This is the dramatic moment villagers battled to rescue a female driver trapped in a submerged car in Thailand.

The motorist, Khun Ladda, 38, was travelling through Nakhon Si Thammarat province when she lost control of her Ford car on September 12.

The vehicle crashed through the guardrails and landed in a canal, where passers-by found it lying upside-down and filled with water.

Fearing the driver might drown, the rescuers jumped into and waded through the chest-deep water to try to push the car upright.

When the Ford was on its side, they opened the car door, but could not pull Ladda out of the flooded cabin.

The locals then scrambled to push the overturned car onto its wheels and finally managed to fish out the unconscious woman from her seat.

Medics arrived and laid Ladda out on a stretcher. She was given CPR before being rushed to the Maharaj Nakhon Si Thammarat Hospital.

Nakhon Si Thammarat police officers were examining the scene of the accident. They said the cause of the crash is under investigation.